This September, international bikeshare leaders came together in Portland for our Moving Forward Together 2018 conference with the Better Bike Share Partnership.

The four-day long conference was filled with presentations, discussions, breakout sessions and, of course, bike rides around the transit-friendly city of Portland. Each day created a space for the minds behind our shared mobility movement to discuss ongoing research, community engagement and other strategies to make bikeshare more inclusive. If you’re experiencing conference withdrawals, you can find presentation slides here.

To kick off the conference, Keith Benjamin of Charleston Department of Traffic and Transportation discussed incorporating equity and representation in the future of shared mobility.

When asked about the role bikeshare plays in communities, Courtney Williams, known as the Brown Bike Girl for her bicycle advocacy consulting, said, “It’s a platform. It’s freedom, joy, happiness. It’s transit access. Operators should be champions for equity, communicate that people of color on bikes are a norm, not a target for policing.”

Courtney shared her experience on the plenary panel alongside like-minded leaders such as Río Oxas, Mobility Justice’s policy and programs organizer. “We see critical consciousness around mobility justice,” said Río Oxas. “Our vision is to see people having the freedom and resources to move in public spaces with dignity and love.”

Barb Chamberlain of Washington State Department of Transportation closed out the week of bikeshare buzz by inviting the audience to explore the initial incorporation of inequity and the solutions folks in the transportation sector have the ability to create.

We are thankful for our presenting sponsor, JUMP, an innovative dockless and e-bikeshare company, for making this gathering possible and BIKETOWN for supplying bikes for community rides around the city of Portland.

Join us for our next annual conference in Indianapolis, where we’ll have even more innovative ideas and speakers.